One the left, wax cappings from extracting honey, this is the primo wax.

Wax Cappings Value

Most beekeepers know beeswax is more valuable than honey but then the question becomes, so how valuable IS the wax?

Some estimate it takes 8 lbs of honey to make 1 pound of wax. If you factor in how far bees have to travel and how many flowers they have to visit to make a pound of honey - two million flowers per pound - the value keeps going up.

This year, I kept my saved wax in a container so that when it was full, I boiled it down into a solid block of wax. It still amazes me how little actual wax there was on frames once all of the extra additives were removed.

Someone did the same thing and brought their results to the Missouri State Beekeepers Association fall conference in Springfield, Missouri. The examples showed a couple of things: first, the difference between plain wax and the wax from the wax caps that keep honey stored.

Secondly, there was a price associated with each. Not surprisingly, the wax cappings were more valuable than regular wax:

These are the prices for wax at Missouri State Beekeepers Association Oct. 27-28, 2017.

Wax from cappings, on left, I'm told is the wax saved and used for lip balms and other cosmetics as well as premier candlers.

The wax on the right would be wax that could be melted and used to resurface plastic foundation.